Sunday, 5 June 2011

Hairballs in rabbits can lead to a very sad ending. To find out more about hairballs in rabbits, read the information below.

Cause

Usually during molting times (which is every 3 months) your bunny may loose quite a bit of fur. Some of that fur they may end up digesting which can't be very good. If they don't have a healthy diet or are suffering impaired digestion system, all of the fur that they are swallowing will collect up in their stomachs. When they have quite a bit of fur in their stomachs, it will be blocked up and lead to death.

Symptoms

Here is a list of symptoms for hairballs in rabbits:

Eat less and will soon stop eating

Their waste droppings will look smaller and soon won't poo at all

After they stop eating, they will look very bright and alert

and

They will look very depressed

Treatment

Rehydrate- If they have only been partly affected, they can have fresh greens but make sure that they are at least have something to drink.

Analgesia- This is a medication that can improve appetite and reduce stress (this will speed up recovery)

Diet- A good healthy diet will help your bunny improve and good for their health anyway

If they have stopped eating altogether, take them to an emergency vet very fast.

Prevention

Here is a list for how to keep hairballs in rabbits away:

Good diet

Ample exercise

Clean and calm environment

and

make sure to brush your bunny lots

Here are some bunny products which you may be interested in, have a look if you are!

Saturday, 4 June 2011

Rabbit urine is usually yellow, but can be different colours from a condition called red urine which can be from plant pigment. This can be in healthy bunnies as well as ill.To find out more about rabbit urine, read the information below.

Cause

Some causes of different coloured rabbit urine is from:

1) plant pigment- A diet with large amounts of plants, high in beta-carotene (which is things like carrots and spinach) can cause this. Also your bunny eating pine or fur needles can change the colour of their wee. This will only last 2-3 days.

2) A kidney or bladder infection

3) kidney or bladder stone

4) kidney or bladder cancer

5) bladder polyps

Symptoms

The main symptom is the different coloured rabbit urine. If it is from plant pigment, the colours are red, pink, brown, or orange. If it looks like there is blood in your rabbits urine, then there is probably something wrong in their kidney or bladder.

Treatment

There is antibiotics for your bunny but if there is blood in their wee, it is advisable to visit the vets as soon as possible.

Here are some bunny products which you may be interested in, have a look if you are!If you have any questions or concerns, comment on this post.

Friday, 3 June 2011

Bumblefoot in rabbits looks like it would be very painful. Here is some information about bumblefoot in rabbits.

Cause

This is an inflammation of the balls of the feet and is usually caused by infection. This infection occurs when you pet ha broken skin on the bottom of their feet and bacteria gets into it. This is a wound or abrasion on the foot.The skin can become broken from the bottom of the cage floor if it is just wire mesh.

Symptoms

This will usually first appear as a small, reddish bump/lump on the bottom of the foot. This may look similar to calluses on human feet. Their is a closed abscess inside the lump. When the lumps grow large, they may break open and bleed. This is when they could be infected.

Treatment/Prevention

There isn't a certain treatment for this so you may have to visit a vet to see what would be the best for your bunny. To help prevent bumblefoot in rabbits, you need to make sure that there is no trauma to feet which could be from walking on wire mesh, a clean hutch so they can't get an infection and solid surface floors.

Here are some bunny products which you may be interested in, if you are take a look!
If you have any questions or concerns about bumblefoot in rabbits comment on this post.

Thursday, 2 June 2011

Today I had both rabbits on top of the hutch and let them sniff each other and become more trustworthy in each other because of the day before. They were out for about 20 minutes and seemed perfectly fine beside each other on top of the hutch. I wouldn't leave them on there by themselves but wouldn't recommend leaving 2 bunnies that are being bonded on their own.

Here are some bunny products which you may be interested in, take a look if you are! If you have any questions or concerns about rabbit bonding, comment on this post.

Ear mite in rabbits is a common parasite disease which is in domestic and wild bunnies. This infestation is also responsible for the canker (severe crusting and thick scale build up inside the ear. Read the information below to find out more information about ear mites in rabbits.

Causes

This infestation can come from grass and hay that you buy. Also can be carried by other house animals such as cats and dogs and brought into your house and then your bunny will most likely catch it. I have heard that some of the causes are unknown.

Symptoms

Here is a list of symptoms of ear mites in rabbits:

reddish/brown crusting in the ear canal

scratching ears

shaking head

ears may droop

Some mites may be visible on the crusting

and

mites on other parts of the body (a common spot is the the tail)

Treatment/Prevention

To treat and prevent this infestation from happening again, you can:

treat with mineral oil or miticides (make sure to check with your vet about the miticides)

make sure your bunny is cleaned (not bathed)

leave the crusty scabs as they will be painful for your bunny if you pull them off

thoroughly clean their hutch and environment

and

thoroughly clean ears with a good cleaning solution for bunnies

Here are some bunny products which you may be interested in, click on them below for more information!

If you have any questions or concerns about ear mites in rabbits, comment on this post

Wednesday, 1 June 2011

Today we had them out in the garden running around together. They went up to each other and started nudging each other to get groomed. They were starting to fight but separated quickly. We had them on top of the hutch for the rest of the time and making sure they weren't to close to each other or about to fight.

Here are some bunny products which I thought you might be interested in!

If you have any questions or concerns about rabbit bonding, comment on this post.

Diarrhea in rabbits is usually from an illness or disease. Read the information below to find out more about diarrhea in rabbits.

Causes

Bunnies that are under the age of 2 years old might get a disease called e coli. If an entire litter got this at a very young age, they would all be killed. Bunnies in the weaning process are known to develop bacterial enteritis if not getting the right diet. This is a disease in rabbits over the weight of 2 pounds.

They could also get an infection in the intestines if their food is changed to a diet that is too high in carbohydrates or starches. They won't be able to digest properly. certain antibiotics can lead to infections and cause your bunny to have unhealthy poos.

If you have your rabbit in a very stressful situation, this can also lead to this illness. Try to avoid stressful situations when you can. Infection with Coccidia is a more common way for any bunny to get this.

Symptoms

Some symptoms found in all bunnies are:

abdominal pain

dehydration

diarrhea (possibly containing blood)

and

loss of appetite

treatment/Prevention

Since this is a life threatening illness, if very bad I would recommend you visiting your local vet. Their diet is very important so you have to make sure that they are getting the food that they need. They would need a diet that is high in fiber which can be from hay as well as low in carbohydrates.

Try to avoid excess quantities of: grains, refined flour, and high in sugar fruits (like bananas) because they are high in carbohydrates.

Here are some bunny products which I thought you may find interesting!

Any questions or concerns about diarrhea in rabbits, comment on this post.